Reclaim Finance has criticised pressure from lobby groups for causing a proposed adoption of ‘Say on Climate’ votes to be dropped by the joint committee debating France’s draft Green Industry bill. During the first reading of the bill, France’s National Assembly had adopted an amendment to extend the Say on Climate principle, against the advice of the government. The measure would have required listed companies to submit their climate strategy to shareholders for a consultative vote through a resolution at their annual general meeting and was supported by both French and foreign investors. The environmental non-profit said it is “disappointed” that parliamentarians and the government have “given in to pressure from lobbyists”. Several lobby groups – particular the French Association of Large Companies – had been pushing for the amendment to be withdrawn. Reclaim Finance also called on the government and parliamentarians to work on improving the conditions for shareholder dialogue so that investors can implement their own climate commitments. Antoine Laurent, Advocacy Lead at Reclaim Finance, said: “This is very disappointing. The measure to combat greenwashing is a minimal, but useful step to support investors who want to invest more responsibly. Its removal from the text clearly illustrates the government’s lack of political will to move forward on sustainable finance.”
🚨Retrait du #SayOnClimate : les entreprises cotées ne seront pas obligées de soumettre leur plan climat à leurs investisseurs lors des AG ! Une décision décevante qui illustre l'inaction du gouvernement en matière de finance durable⬇️https://t.co/Rv5EXDS6B4
— Reclaim Finance (@ReclaimFinance) October 10, 2023
